The Aging Workforce

The Aging Workforce

More and more, the workforce is multigenerational. We don’t see this trend as a sign of trouble. We see it as an opportunity to build and sustain a highly capable, creative and productive team across the generations. When companies recognize the assets that experienced workers bring and the advantages of multigenerational engagement on the job, an aging workforce can be a positive development, especially in today’s tight labor market. AARP is deeply engaged in this issue. We combat age discrimination in recruitment, hiring, and employment. We promote age diversity in employment through the AARP Employer Pledge program. By signing this pledge, more than 700 companies have committed to develop diverse, high-performing organizations by leveraging workers of all ages.

Experienced workers offer maturity and professionalism; a strong work ethic; reliability; institutional loyalty and knowledge; and the capacity and willingness to pass on skills, norms and values that reinforce the culture and contribute to the success of the organization. An age-diverse workforce benefits from mentorship and from the different experiences and perspectives that can fuel the creativity of age-mixed teams.

Age discrimination—whether stark or subtle—can stand in the way of fulfilling this promise. In a survey AARP released last summer of respondents 45 and over, 61 percent said they had seen or experienced discrimination in the workplace. More than 50 years after ADEA became law, this situation is not acceptable.

HR Departments can propel their organizations forward by taking proactive steps to resist the conscious or unconscious bias that results from inaccurate stereotypes. These actions should include using software to remove information that can bias the hiring decision; standardizing the interview; giving a work sample test; and setting up training sessions to reduce bias.

Companies can promote an age-diverse workforce through flexible policies, such as caregiving leave, that help employees of all ages.

I want to introduce Susan Weinstock, our VP for Financial Resilience Programming. Later in the week, Ramsey Alwin, our Director of Thought Leadership, Financial Resilience, will join the conversation.

We look forward to a candid, insightful, important forum on how to build high-performing organizations through age diversity. Let’s open it up for questions and discussion.

I agree with Scott and applaud AARP’s work on these issues. As noted in my two recent HBR pieces, the evidence for experience and age diversity is compelling. And beyond the evidence, common sense alone tells us that capitalizing on the potential of every generation and responding to the reality of changing demographics should be best practice.

Fortunately, an increasing number of employers “get it.” But while change is happening, it’s just too slow. Ageism is part of the problem, and it must be confronted and called out. But more than recognizing negative biases, it will take enlightened leadership and movement building to get us to where we need to go.

I’m interested in new ideas about how to accelerate a widespread shift in thinking and practice that will open opportunities and a better future for for older adults–and people of all ages.

Thanks Paul. I greatly appreciated your highlighting these issues in your recent HBR pieces. AARP is working to demonstrate the value of older workers to employers and dispel stubborn myths. We currently have a labor shortage and employers are looking for talent, yet too often they overlook experienced workers – to their detriment. Older workers bring strong soft skills to the workplace, like empathy, the ability to listen, staying calm under pressure and problem solving, gained through a lifetime of work. Employers tell us that these are the type of skills they need. I’m looking forward to this conversation.